Midnight Peak Hike
Scramble via Baldy
Pass Trail - Kananaskis Highway 40

As seen from the
intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 40, South Baldy Peak is
the point to the right and Mt. Baldy is just out of view to the
right of the picture

Large parking lot, other part
of gravel road goes left to Porcupine Group Campground

Highway 40 crosswalk and start
of the trail on the east side of the highway


Good trail all the way to
Baldy Pass

Northwest face and ridge of
Midnight Peak - trail begins ascent to Baldy Pass just past this
viewpoint

Shortly after this section you
begin the more pronounced ascent up to Baldy Pass



Last bit of trail before you
arrive at Baldy Pass

Enjoying a break at Baldy Pass

View south east from Baldy
Pass is Jumping Pound Ridge I think?

View east from Baldy Pass is
Cox Hill I think?

Two ways to get to the upper
open slope, route finding skills required up and down this section

Closer view of upper ascent
slope

Approaching the lower open
rock area

At the lower open rock area,
both ways will take you to the upper open slope, straight through or
traverse around the trees

South Baldy Ridge and Peak

We did the traverse around and
back to the left to the faint trail

Start of the upper slope, the
trail zigzags and starts moving to the right part way up

Adeem making his way up in
mountain weather, time for the stuffing of the down jacket

A better view of the steepness
of the trail




The west ridge from the summit
cairn

Summit photo inside a ping
pong ball


The traverse to the south
summit if you so desire

Yours truly and the only 2
other scramblers of the day approaching


Descending, see the little
tree for your bearings



Steepness of slope looking
west

Steepness of slope looking
east

AA heading home from Baldy
Pass

A Western Wood Lily - More of
the Creator's handiwork in a fallen world


Midnight Peak Hike
Scramble via Baldy Pass Trail – Kananaskis Highway 40
Scramble: Class 2 – Nice hike up to Baldy
Pass, then some route finding through trees, then very steep
hiking up the north ridge, sometimes putting hands down
Altitude: 2,332m (7,650 ft)
Elevation Gain: 914m (3,000 ft)
Ascent Time: 2 ½ - 3 Hours
Best Season to Scramble: May to October,
Microspikes helpful if bit of snow on ascent slope as melting
and refreezing on the shoulder seasons can make slope slippery
in places although slope is mostly rubble with only a few slabby
sections which can be avoided.
Take the usual precautions with regards to
wildlife as you are hiking a long way up a narrow valley. Better
with a group and make your presence known in various ways. Yo
Bear!!!
Highlights
This scramble starts with a very pleasant
hike up to Baldy Pass elevation gain to the Pass approx 1,600
feet. The remaining 1,400 feet will put your quads to the test
but you are rewarded with some great views for the effort made.
You can also traverse to the south peak if your goal is both
summits.
Just the hike up to Baldy Pass would be a
good family hike.
Getting There
Head west out of Calgary on the TransCanada
highway # 1 to the Highway 40 Kananaskis Country turnoff (approx
59.7km from the Canada Olympic Park intersection to the Highway
40 turnoff). Take the turnoff and head south on highway 40 for
approx. 13.5km. You pass the Barrier Lake Information Centre,
then the turnoff to Barrier Lake, then up over the big hill that
is beside Mt Baldy, then a short while later you will see the
sign for the Baldy Pass / Porcupine Group Campground, turn right
here, parking lot is on the west side of highway 40. The
trailhead is across the road on the east side of the highway
about 40 yards farther south of the turnoff. They even have a
crosswalk painted on the highway though I am doubtful I would
trust anyone to stop.
Route Description
Enter the trail on the east side of the
highway, trail sign at the start says 4.0km to Baldy Pass. After
.7km you reach a junction with another trail sign. Head left or
east for Baldy Pass as heading right would take you south to the
Wasootch Creek parking lot. The trail is very pleasant and
elevation gain is very minimal to gradual as you hike up the
valley. After you pass through an open area where you get a good
view of the rugged northwest face and ridge
of Midnight Peak the trail begins to
climb but at a steady rate all the way to Baldy Pass. Just a
hike to Baldy Pass would be a very good family hike. The Pass
has a rocky open area where one can stop for snacks and enjoy
the scenery. Looking south from the pass the considerably
foreshortened north face of Midnight Peak is in view.
Foreshortened means that it is a lot farther than it looks. This
is where some route finding both up and down is necessary. The
basic idea is to reach the bottom of the first big open rock
slope, then head straight up the right side of it into the
trees, or instead you can traverse to the far right around all
the trees and circle up around.
So if you go straight up into the trees just
work your way up slightly going right till you hit the final
open slope on the left side. There is a trail in the trees but
is disappears in the lower section of the trees and is there for
only the upper 2/3 of the trees. If you decide to just traverse
to the right around all the trees, then you have to traverse
back to the far left to find the start of the trail up the final
slope. The traverse is not that far though. So either route will
get you there. Don’t worry about the steepness you encounter,
it’s the same everywhere, in fact steepness would be the
operative word for the whole way.
The faint trail (could be easily lost if not
observant) on the final open slope starts at the far left of the
slope then generally moves to the right working its way up. Our
ascent was in late October so there was about 4-6 inches of snow
on the face. The microspikes were put on fairly soon as the
melting and refreezing overnight left the trail crusty with some
icyness underneath parts of the trail. The microspikes performed
very well and the purchase on the slope was greatly improved.
Even if you lost the trail you could just pick the line with the
best footing heading right and up. Quite a bit of a rubbly slope
so a slip and slide would only last a few feet.